What's in a Name?

I tend to avoid being in large groups with people I don't know. I enjoy meeting new people, but situations like these always result in embarrassment for me because I am absolutely HORRIBLE learning people's names. I hate feeling that I know a lot about a person but cannot remember what to call them. You can imagine how frustrating this is in work situations. I work for a church and need to know who people are; as a professor, calling a student by name communicates that I am interested in their progress and value them as an individual.

Our name shares with the world our identity. I was named after two ministers who were important in my parents' lives early in their faith journey -- Kennith Staggs and Terrell Bishop. While I rarely use my middle name, I am reminded of the role that faith has played in my life since the beginning. (It's a family joke that my name was originally going to be Barbara Beth since the doctors were expecting a little girl! Still, the influence of these two families were to be memorialized through my name.)

As we mature and develop, our names become synonymous with our reputation. Depending upon the circle where my name is mentioned, it may bring to mind thoughts of a gifted pianist, tough teacher, worship leader, or cherished fraternity brother. Those closest to me may also use nicknames for me -- terms of endearment (mostly) that are reminders of our shared connection. I take pride in most of my nicknames and laugh at the memories of how they came to be. While family members refer to me as "Kenbo" and "Uncle Ken", college friends will refer to me as "Ken-eye-eth" (spelled KennIth), "Kennith with an I" and "Grandma." So there's no mistake, there are also some not-so-complimentary nicknames as well; some of them (that I'm aware of, at least) include "Queen of Nag" and "Hitler." Despite the negative connotations, I still take a certain amount of pride in them.

As I continue to struggle to learn the names of my students this semester, I am reminded of how important it is that I know my own name as a child of God! My Heavenly Father calls me beloved.....more than a conqueror......redeemed......joint heir with Christ. How I long today to walk in a full understanding of who He says I am. I hope to live my life in a way that allows the name Kennith Freeman to invoke thoughts of compassion, kindness, and genuine love to those I meet. Along the way, I hope to develop deeper relationships with other people as we learn each other's names (no matter how slowly!) and develop a personal meaning for each other's name.